The film's opening and closing sequence include a 360 degree rotational shot of Rocket in the centre of a face off between the gangsters and the police, unsure of where to turn. This is symbolic of the story of the film in that his life can take one of either direction. The narrative is then broken down into a series of vignettes which tell the story of the favela and the central characters, and ultimately which path Rocket decides to take.

I argue that this film was imperative in raising awareness of both the existence of as well as the issues within the favelas in Rio de Janeiro, and was one of the first cultural representations to emerge from Brazil to show the darker side of the city and an alternate reality to what is commonly perceived about Rio, that is postcard images of beaches, sunsets and samba. Via this cultural vehicle I argue that it was possible to begin to conduct businesses in the city such as 'favela tour' and 'favela party' due to interest from foreigners in seeing and experiencing a slice of life in the favelas. Which raises the question: Did this film glorify life in the favelas, or did it depict a realistic perspective of reality? How has consciousness raising of the foreign public since affected the inhabitants of these urban spaces and has this effect been positive or negative?

I argue that one of the key strengths of the film is realism. The actors are amateurs recruited from the favelas, and the central character Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues) is from the Cidade de Deus favela itself, which lends authenticity and personal perspective to the characters. The film was shot inside a real favela rather than a film set, taking the viewer directly into the urban space of favela inhabitants.

There are several key themes in the film which I will outline below and which raise points of discussion related to the reality of life for favela inhabitants. Alongside the theme of choice, the film raises the questions of what options children who grow up in this environment have for survival. One of the most shocking and criticised features of the film is its portrayal of violence executed by young children in the favela. The characters 'The Runts' are a group of children in the favela aged younger than 8 who view crime and becoming part of a drugs ring the only option for their future. Their youth is emphasised in a scene where they are discussing wanting to take over the most powerful drugs ring in the favela whilst sat in a fenced off cubicle which could be likened to a children's playpen. This scene culminates in possibly the most memorable and shocking scene in the film, where a child wishing to be initiated into Lil Ze's gang is forced to decide between which two children from the 'Runts' he wants to shoot and kill. We are faced with his indecision coupled with his detachment from the situation he is placed in. One of the children whose life is being decided bursts into tears, and with a close-up shot of his face we are immediately drawn to his extreme fear of the situation he is in, as well as his age, which could not be more than 5 years old. The child character who pulls the trigger. 'Steak and Frites', is later depicted in the house of the rival gang being questioned as to why he wants to be involved in the gang warfare, and says: “I smoke, I snort. I have killed and robbed. I'm a man“. At the termination of the film when the Runts have murdered Ze and are discussing how they will take over his business and become the leaders of the favela, their lack of education is highlighted when one of the group asks for the purposes of creating a hit list of those they intend to murder 'who here knows how to write?' and one of them responds 'a little'. Either these children have had no access to education, or more concerned with their survival in the favela consider schooling to be an unnecessary part of life.